Donald Trump appoints Elon Musk to head up new cost-cutting office ‘DOGE’ named after internet meme dog
DONALD Trump has given pal Elon Musk a top position in his upcoming cabinet - and named his office after a famous meme.
The billionaire tech tycoon will lead Trump's newly forged Department of Government Efficiency - as "secretary of cost-cutting".
The office was named after the popular Doge meme - the famous Japanese dog Kabosu behind the cryptocurrency Dogecoin.
Elon is known to be a fan of the meme, once changing X (formerly Twitter) logo to the face of Doge.
Trump said in a statement on Tuesday that he will "pave the way for my Administration to dismantle Government Bureaucracy, slash excess regulations, cut wasteful expenditures, and restructure Federal Agencies".
Musk - the world's richest man - will work as co-chair of the new team alongside prominent Republican Vivek Ramaswamy.
READ MORE ON TRUMP & ELON
In response, the X CEO said: "This will send shockwaves through the system, and anyone involved in Government waste, which is a lot of people!"
Musk's proximity to Trump is set to make him one of the most powerful people on the plant.
He has reportedly spent "nearly every day" at Mar-a-Lago since Trump's crushing election victory last week.
Kai, Trump's 17-year-old granddaughter, also shared a snap with Musk and his child X on a golf course this weekend saying "Elon achieving uncle status."
Musk helped fund the Republican's election victory through his pro-Trump political action committee America PAC.
He was a regular fixture towards the end of Trump's campaign trail and even gave out huge cash prizes to voters who signed petitions relating to Republican causes.
Trump has previously said Musk would be given a role as "secretary of cost cutting", heading up the new Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
The role means he could have wide-reaching powers to trim the US federal bureaucracy that he and Trump have claimed is holding America back.
The Space X founder has been a key fixture of Trump's campaign and was pictured with his four-year-old son at the Mar-a-Lago election party.
Trump even called him in to join a family photo taken at the Palm Beach mansion.
ANALYSIS: Trump is moving fast, breaking things - and Elon is just the start
by Harry Cole, Political Editor of The Sun
PEOPLE joked about Elon Musk joining the Trump administration - and lo and behold, he's actually done it.
He's not been given a formal government job - and won't be in the White House - but he's setting up the Department of Government Efficiency.
That is DOGE for short - and internet fans will know this is a small fluffy dog meme, of which Musk is a fan.
Again, everyone thought he was joking about the name - and now he's gone and done it.
Musk will lead this efficiency drive, looking at where government savings can be made.
He will be applying the sort of private sector efficiency that he is so famed for at Tesla and at SpaceX.
This is a guy who puts reusable rockets in the air and grabs them out of the sky with giant chopsticks.
He knows what he is talking about.
Left-wing media have sneered at Musk since he backed Trump as they see the Republican as toxic.
But Musk is clearly an incredibly intelligent guy who is going to devote his time and resources to the United States.
It is clear Trump is moving fast - and he is breaking things.
This is his second term and don't forget he can't be reelected again, he's only got one more chance to do things in a very different way.
When he came into office in 2016, there was a bit of a rush to make lots of appointments.
He is the first to admit he chose some bad bad ones.
But this time around it's going to be a very different presidency - starting with bringing in Musk.
Trump is sending a signal: "Business as usual is over."
During his victory speech he gave Musk a special thanks - telling crowds "We have a new star - a star is born, Elon [Musk]!"
He said: "He is an amazing guy, we were sitting together tonight.
"He spent two weeks in Philadelphia and different parts of Pennsylvania campaigning."
The 78-year-old went on to praise Musk for his "super-genius" and described how he was in awe watching his Space X rocket return to Earth without a hitch.
"He sent the rocket up two weeks ago and I saw that rocket, I saw it coming down it was beautiful," Trump said.